Song Review: Sechs Kies – Three Words

When it was first announced that 90’s superstars Sechs Kies had signed with YG Entertainment for their long awaited reunion, I couldn’t imagine what the resulting material would sound like. Sechs Kies older songs don’t really bear anything close to the trademark YG sound, though I suppose a focus on hip-hop creates some sort of through line.

Rather than burst back into the idol world with a world-conquering event single, the group has decided to slowly dip their feet back into the pool with the gorgeous — if not particularly galvanizing — Three Words. The song was composed by Epik High’s Tablo and producer Future Bounce, and in many ways it sounds like what you’d expect from a more ballad-heavy Epik High track. In other words, it’s very YG. And while this lacks much of what made Sechs Kies such a force to be reckoned with, you can never really go wrong with a YG-produced hip-hop ballad.

Three Words has some nice touches, especially the elegant, restrained brass refrains that help fuel the chorus. The guys sound great — fully able to compete with today’s idol groups. And while the song wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Winner’s debut album in 2014, it’s a welcome style that we haven’t heard in awhile. Three Words’ majestic sound befits a group of Sechs Kies’ caliber, but I can’t help but hope that the next track will show off their harder edged side. A modern update of something like Com’ Back or Road Fighter would be incredibly fun and inject much needed 90’s bombast to 2016’s k-pop offerings. Either way, it’s great to have them back.